


A Little Trouble

by Anatemnein



Category: Designing Women
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-24
Updated: 2019-09-24
Packaged: 2020-10-27 12:36:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 13,083
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20760473
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Anatemnein/pseuds/Anatemnein
Summary: Anthony and Julia find themselves in an unusual situation when Charlene asks them to watch Olivia for a weekend.





	1. Chapter 1

~~~~

"Have you finished filing those invoices, Charlene?"

Charlene nodded her head wearily. "Every last one of 'em, Julia. I'm so glad I got this finished before the weekend" she said, slumping over on her elbows and resting her head on her hand.

Julia smiled and made her way exhaustedly over to the sofa. "It has been a hectic week. Between Mary Jo finishing that bathroom for Ms. Lewis, and us finalizing that hotel account and clearing out the storeroom, I think I've barely had time to breathe!"

Charlene grinned cheekily at Julia, flashing her a sly, playful look. "You got any romantic evenings planned with Anthonyyyy?" she asked, drawing out the 'y' for emphasis as she smirked.

Julia shot Charlene a stern look, but smirked in spite of herself. She'd barely had a chance to talk to Anthony all week, let alone spend any nights together. Most weeks they'd spend at least every other night together, cooking, talking, doing anything, really, but this week had beat them all down so brutally she and Anthony could barely muster the energy for a kiss good night before he shuffled wearily out of the office. Julia couldn't help smile to herself at the thought: when the going got tough, Anthony got tougher, and he did whatever it took to help her stay afloat.

"THAT is not open for discussion, Charlene" Julia said, shifting to try to diffuse Charlene's intentions to pry.

Charlene smirked, not easily deterred, and sprung to her feet, crossing the floor slowly as she teased, "Yyyyyessss you do, I know that look Julia, you two have barely seen each other all week, I know you've been thinking about him."

"Charlene" Julia said firmly, shooting Charlene a glare, trying to stifle the smirk on her lips. In all fairness, Charlene was not that far off base, but this wasn't appropriate to discuss with someone who--although a friend--was still an employee, first and foremost.

"Okayyy" Charlene said, sulking and crossing her arms as she sat down in the chair beside the sofa.

"You and Bill have any plans?" Julia asked, trying to get the discussion back on track.

"Oh, sure, so when you ask it's okay, but--"

"I'm not talking about THAT, Charlene!" Julia snapped, rolling her eyes.

Charlene jumped and shifted awkwardly. "Oh, right, yes, of course, sorry. Uh, well no, nothing too crazy. Bill and I are going away for the weekend, we got a cabin in the woods, just the two of us, so Ms. Philpott's gonna keep Olivia."

Julia cocked her head sympathetically. "It's about time y'all had a chance to have some alone time, I know you've been needing it."

"Yeah, no kidding, Olivia's almost 9 months old and she still clings to me like she was born yesterday!" Charlene said. "Bill and I barely have time to...you know--"

"CHARLENE!"

"Okay, okay, sorry" Charlene said sheepishly, crossing her legs.

Before Julia had a chance to bemoan helping Charlene a few months ago with her and Bill's first 'dry spell', so to speak, the door to Sugarbaker's opened and Mary Jo and Anthony trudged inside, shutting the door behind them.

"Thank god this week is over," Mary Jo said as she marched to her desk and dropped her things atop it, "if I have to look at one more ceramic bathroom tile I'm gonna lacerate my own eyeballs."

"I know it wasn't easy, but you did a wonderful job, Mary Jo, and got it finished early! Ms. Lewis called me about 30 minutes ago, told me how pleased she was" Julia said, smiling proudly at her.

Mary Jo blushed a tad. Even five years into her time at Sugarbaker's, she still couldn't help but feel bashful when receiving a compliment on her work. "Thanks," she said, plopping into the chair near the sofa, "it was a hard battle but I won."

Anthony slid onto the sofa beside Julia, sliding an arm around her as she said, "Everything go okay at the hotel?"

"Oh yeah," he answered, nudging her playfully, "our clients are still happy, and everything still looks as great as it did when we finished--I think we are golden." She giggled in response but shot him a look that told him not to get too playful while the others were still there.

"Suzanne go on home?" Julia asked Mary Jo, nudging Anthony as he stroked her neck flirtatiously, and trying to shift the attention off of them.

Mary Jo bit back a smirk and nodded, opening her mouth to fire off a smart remark when Anthony suddenly said, "Y'all are more than welcome to leave" as he shot Mary Jo and Charlene a look that suggested he wasn't interested in being subtle about getting rid of them.

"ANTHONY!" Julia said, blushing and whacking him on the chest.

Mary Jo cackled heartily and Charlene blushed and grinned, both of them rising from their seats. "No worries, Julia, we can tell when we aren't wanted" Mary Jo said, as she picked up her purse and marched toward the door. "Y'all just make sure to stretch first before--"

"MARY JO!" Julia snapped, hearing her cackle as she shut the door behind herself and Charlene. Julia turned to Anthony and shot him a glare.

"Anthony, you and I are supposed to be professional about things, our relationship is not an excuse to--" she stopped short as Anthony slid a hand around her neck and pulled her closer, kissing her intensely. Julia wanted to protest, but felt her resolve pretty quickly fade as he deepened the kiss, feeling his hand slide under her skirt and stroke her pantyhose.

"Anthony" Julia said, giggling shyly and gently pushing him away, "did you hear what I said?"

Anthony nodded his head swiftly as he replied, "Yes, Ms. Sugarbaker" attempting to give her another kiss.

"Anthony!" she said, whacking him playfully, and rising to her feet, "you and I have to set an example here in the office."

Anthony slumped against the sofa in frustration and shot her an annoyed look. "Alright, Julia, I'm sorry, I'll be sure to wait until the appropriate post-work hour to show any interest in you" he said, raising his hands in semi-playful exasperation.

Julia bit back a smile as she looked down at him, feeling a pang of wistfulness as she looked into his boyish, dark eyes. She softened a little, and stroked his cheek as she said, "I love you, darlin'."

"I love you too, baby" he replied, kissing her hand. "Now that you've established dominance in the office hierarchy, can I show you how much I love you?" he asked, raising an eyebrow suggestively.

She laughed, pulling him to his feet as she said, "You can feed me first, Anthony, no dessert before dinner."

He slid a hand around her waist and nuzzled her hair as he said, "Where do you wanna go, baby?"

She slipped her arms around his neck and said softly, "Well, I was hoping maybe you would cook something for me?"

Anthony grinned, taking Julia's hand as he led her to the kitchen, feeling a surge of pride as he remembered the first time he ever cooked for Julia, shortly after they'd first begun dating. It was about 2 weeks into their relationship, long before they'd become physically intimate, but in a sense, to Anthony, that night had been almost as special. He remembered watching Julia, who was, as she claimed, "curious, but not overly talented" in the kitchen, as she'd peered over his shoulder and watched him chop vegetables, and pan sear a steak. If growing up poor had done anything for him, it had given him the chance to learn to cook under Dondi's tutelage, as eating out for them had been a seldom treat. Julia, for her part, had been amazed, falling in love with him little by little with each time he cooked for her.

As Anthony set a pan on the stovetop, clicking on the hotplate, he shot a suggestive look at Julia, who was sitting on a small stool watching him set out the ingredients for dinner. "Is it forward of me to assume that Madame Sugarbaker may reward me, her lowly servant, with a visit to the upstairs chambers?" he asked playfully.

Julia shot him a sly look, crossing her legs and fluffing her hair. "What do you think I meant by dessert, Chef Bouvier?"

Anthony grinned as he threw a few cloves of garlic in the pan, wondering to himself how he'd gotten so lucky.


	2. Chapter 2

Julia giggled as she sat atop Anthony's lap. They were finished with dinner, and a few glasses into a bottle of white wine, and Anthony's hands were working steadily at the buttons of her blouse, when they heard a knock at the front door, somewhat frantic and urgent.

"Did you hear that?" Julia asked, rising to her feet and narrowing her eyes in alarm.

"Probably just some neighborhood hoodlums, Julia" Anthony replied, reaching for her hand in an attempt to pull her toward him again when a familiar voice called out, "Julia? Anthony?"

"That's Charlene!" Julia said, moving swiftly toward the door as she hurriedly buttoned her blouse and straightened her clothes.

"Oh goody" Anthony muttered under his breath, rolling his eyes and following her slowly, fairly ticked that Charlene was cutting into the best part of his evening. Julia reached the door before him and swung it open. Charlene, Bill, and a tired looking Olivia stood on the other side, looking guiltily at them, all except for Olivia, who looked confused as to why she wasn't in bed.

"Charlene, Bill, what on earth is going on?" Julia asked, rushing them inside.

Charlene and Bill looked nervously at one another before Charlene said, "I know this is bad timing y'all, and I feel so guilty for doing this--" she stopped short for a moment as Anthony shot her a glare from a few feet behind Julia "--but Ms. Philpott's had a family emergency, and she can't watch Olivia for us this weekend, and our cabin was reserved for this evening through Sunday afternoon."

"And?" Anthony asked in annoyance.

"Anthony!" Julia snapped, shooting him a glare. "What is it, Charlene?"

This time it was Bill who spoke up, at the silent urging of his wife. "Well...well, we were just, I mean, it's an awkward position to be in and everything--"

"It sure is" Anthony muttered, receiving another glare from Julia.

"--but we were wondering if you all could, you know, kind of watch Olivia for us?"

Julia stood silent for a moment, shooting a momentary glance at Anthony, before asking, "Well, well...well why can't Mary Jo watch her, Charlene?"

"Because, she and JD are watching that baseball game this weekend at the stadium, and he's only in town with her for a few days before he's got to go back out for work! I know this is inconvenient, Julia, but it would mean the world to us."

In this current moment, Julia couldn't help but silently empathize with Anthony, who was standing with his arms crossed over his chest behind her. Julia liked helping a friend as much as anyone, but not necessarily at the expense of the only time that she had with him all week. She knew a baby in the house meant no alone time, and more work, which merely followed the work week that had nearly killed them all.

"Well, well," Julia stammered again, tugging at her sleeve, "couldn't you just get Suzanne to watch her? I mean, she had Noel, so she has experience putting out food and water for someone."

"JULIA!" Charlene cried in shock, "I can't believe what I'm hearing, you don't actually expect me to leave Olivia with Suzanne!"

"Well, I also didn't expect to have my evening interrupted, but here we are anyway!" Julia shot back, as Anthony piped up, "Yeah, mm-hm!" behind her, nodding his head.

Charlene's mouth dropped open in shock, as Julia quickly regained her composure, pulling at her shirt again, and saying, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, Charlene." She looked at Bill sympathetically, and then at Olivia, who was looking curiously at Anthony. She sighed wearily, and gently took Olivia out of Charlene's arms, as she said, "Alright, we'll watch her for you."

"Julia!" Anthony hissed, shooting her a glare.

Before Julia had time to respond, Olivia pointed at him and said, "Deh!" wiggling a bit and pointing again. Julia hesitated for a moment, trying to decipher what she wanted, before walking slowly over to where Anthony stood, watching Olivia point again as she said, "Deh!". Before he could protest, Julia gently placed Olivia in Anthony's arms, and watched as the baby smiled up at him, touching his face gently with her right hand. Anthony's grimace faltered momentarily as he gazed down into her big blue eyes, which were regarding him with an infinite level of curiosity. He peeked up at Julia, then looked back at Olivia, and slumped his shoulders as he sighed, "Okayyy", hearing Charlene clap excitedly.

"Thanks y'all, you don't know how much this means to us!" she said, practically bouncing off the floor.

"We really owe you one!" Bill chimed in gratefully.

Julia flashed him a stern look. "You certainly do" she said, looking back at Olivia exhaustedly. As much as she loved the little girl, she hadn't been mother to an infant in over 20 years, and she wasn't exactly thrilled at the idea of forsaking an entire weekend to run after one now.

Charlene withered slightly under Julia's gaze, but reached forward to touch her arm. "We really gotta go, I promise I'll pay y'all back" she whispered urgently.

Julia waved her hand at them. "Go, go on, have a wonderful time" she said as lightly as possible, taking Olivia's bag from Bill. They hurried off into the dark as Julia shut the door behind them. She dropped the bag on the chair at Charlene's desk, and looked up at Anthony, who turned away from Olivia's unbroken gaze and said, "Well, what now?"

Julia sighed heavily, and leaned wearily on the desk. "Now we try to get her to sleep."


	3. Chapter 3

Clack-clack-clack!

The sound of a plastic toy bouncing off of the bathroom walls resounded yet again, as Julia gently scrubbed Olivia clean in the tub. She struggled not to roll her eyes, and dutifully finished her work, bemoaning the numerous water stains that now decorated her silk blouse. She couldn't help but remember how only an hour ago Anthony had been in the process of unbuttoning this very blouse as he worked kisses down her neck, and she felt her brow knit together in annoyance. Olivia was grabbing at another toy, preparing to cock her little arm back when Julia snapped, "Olivia!"

At this, Olivia abruptly stopped, and Julia turned briefly to see the expanse of her bathroom floor was riddled with baby toys. She wondered silently if this was behavior that Charlene found endearing, because evidently in the Stillfield household no one had put a stop to it. A few nights at the Sugarbaker household would change that. Julia turned back to Olivia, setting her down gently in the tub and reaching for a towel, before looking at her again and realizing her puppy eyes were brimming with tears. Julia knew--the wealth of knowledge she'd accumulated in motherhood told her as much--that Olivia wasn't actually going to cry, but she was sure the exasperated, sharp tone of her voice hadn't done much to endear her to the girl. Julia sighed and gently picked her up, opening the door to her bedroom, where Anthony had decided to wait, as seeing someone else's child in the nude made him too uncomfortable.

"We do not throw our toys in this house" Julia said sternly, placing the little girl beside Anthony, so she could dress her.

"How'd everything go--you make it out okay?" he asked, glancing at the toys that scattered across the bathroom floor.

"We did, well...we made it out alive, although I must confess I did briefly consider handing her over to the zoo when the fifth toy barely missed my temple" Julia replied, unfolding Olivia's nighty as she finished toweling her off.

"I believe it" Anthony said, glancing wearily over at Olivia. "Julia, I hate to add to your burden, but I don't know the first thing about babies. We don't have a changing table, don't have a crib--what the heck are we gonna do when she falls asleep?"

"Applaud" Julia retorted, buttoning Olivia's nighty. Before she could think to complain anymore, Olivia turned to Anthony, who had scooted nervously away from her, and pointed. "Deh!" she said confidently.

"Julia," Anthony said, cocking a brow, "I don't mean to be rude, but what the hell is she saying?"

"She's saying 'there'," Julia replied, lifting Olivia into her arms, "it would seem she's taken a shine to you." She watched as Olivia gazed curiously at Anthony again, raising her brows at him.

Anthony offered Olivia a phony smile. "My favorite baby is a baby that sleeps" he said cheerily.

"Anthony!" Julia snapped, sitting down on the bed and patting the empty space beside her. "Come sit here" she said softly.

He complied and she looked carefully into his eyes as she spoke. "Look, darlin', I know you're about as thrilled about this arrangement as I am, but there's nothing we can do. We agreed to take Olivia in for the weekend, and it's not her fault that she's here with us--"

"Trust me, I know who to blame for that one" Anthony said swiftly.

"The point I'm making is, we can either be miserable this entire weekend, or we can make the best out of a less than ideal situation and see if we can't find some way to make things work."

"You mean you think we can have sex and watch a baby?"

"NOT what I was talking about" Julia snapped, twisting her mouth in annoyance. "I mean, she's here, we're here, and we can probably find some way to turn things around for us." As Julia said this, Olivia turned to look at her suddenly, and sneezed all over the front of Julia's blouse, as well as on the skin that was still exposed beneath it. Julia drew in a sharp breath in surprise as Anthony quickly picked up the little girl and stood, looking down at Julia.

"Maybe you should be the next to shower." 


	4. Chapter 4

Julia tip toed across the carpet from Payne's old room back to her bedroom. A few hours had gone by, and after both she and Anthony were showered, he'd gone up to her attic and hauled Payne's old crib out of it's dusty corner, polished it up, and set it in his old room, as Julia unzipped the vacuum-tight bag that held his old mattress and sheets and fixed up the bed. She and Anthony had wearily read a story to Olivia, who thankfully seemed to be as tired as they were, and fell asleep relatively quickly.

Julia slipped underneath her silk bedspread and nestled herself against Anthony, as he reached over and turned out the lamp. "We survived" she muttered, nuzzling his chest with her cheek.

"Barely" he half-whispered. "God, Julia, when the heck was anyone gonna tell me that raising a baby was so damn hard?"

She giggled, and kissed his cheek. "Anthony, babies are always difficult, you know that" she said, swatting his chest gently.

"Hmm," he hummed, cocking a brow at her as he turned to look at her, "I also know this is the first night you and I have had alone in a week, Ms. Sugarbaker."

"Anthonyyy" Julia whispered, smiling as he drew himself up on his elbows and bent over her, pinning her firmly underneath him. She giggled in response, feeling him trail gentle kisses along her collarbone, her weariness slowly ebbing away, replaced--somewhat--by a fairly intense level of excitement as she arched her body underneath him. Julia ran her fingers along his face and around his neck, grabbing the skin somewhat roughly before a sharp sound split the night air.

"AAHHHH!!!!" Olivia screeched, howling at the top of her lungs.

Julia felt Anthony jerk in surprise, as he raised his head in confusion. She sighed wearily, and gently pushed Anthony off of her.

"Julia!" he cried in frustration.

"I have to go get her, Anthony" she said, reaching for the door knob.

"No you don't, haven't you ever seen the Discovery Channel? Those moms let their kids cry it out, and failing that, they eat them!"

"Anthony!" Julia snapped. "Look, I know she's only crying because she's scared, but that's reason enough to get her and not traumatize her."

"Well what the hell am I supposed to do?" he asked, gesturing toward himself, his broad shoulders left exposed by her silk bedsheets.

"USE YOUR HANDS" she snapped, flinging the door open and sailing down the hallway. She opened the door to Payne's room to see a ruddy-faced Olivia standing up in her crib, her tiny hands clutching the edges so hard her knuckles were white.

"Uh-ah!" she cried, reaching for Julia.

Julia sighed, gently taking Olivia in her arms and stroking her back. "It's alright, darlin'" she whispered, walking back toward her room. She entered and saw Anthony lying--somewhat dramatically--along her bed, trying, she guessed, to convey both the depths of his frustration and desire.

"Move over, Anthony" she said, setting Olivia down on the bed.

"Nu-uh, Julia, I can't sleep with a kid, we gotta draw the line!"

Julia shot him a stern look, cocking a brow as she replied, "Well you're behaving like one, so it shouldn't be that hard."

"Julia!"

Before either of them had a chance to say anything else, Olivia reached toward Anthony, scooting over to him and touching him gently on the stomach as she looked up at him. "Deh" she said, patting his skin.

Julia watched silently, waiting to see how Anthony would respond.

"Uh, Julia, I..I don't--I don't know what she wants--"

"She just likes you, Anthony" Julia said tenderly, reaching toward him and stroking his hand.

Anthony looked back down at Olivia, who was still looking carefully at him. She broke eye contact after a few moments, and gently leaned against his forearm, her little head resting against him while her fingers circled his elbow.

Julia felt herself getting emotional at the sight, and shifted a bit to bring herself back to reality, looking at Anthony, who was carefully watching Olivia, still unsure of what to do. Finally, he took his free hand and gently stroked her feathery blond hair, seeing her smile in response. Anthony looked over at Julia, who was now laying down, looking at him affectionately. Before he could say anything, Olivia released her grip on his arm, and crawled over to Julia, , resting her hands on Julia's stomach as she gurgled, "Ei". "Hello, darlin'" Julia answered, running her finger along Olivia's cheek.

Anthony watched her quietly, her dark hair fanned over the pillow as she smiled at Olivia, who had decided to nestle herself against Julia's chest, her baby hands firmly gripping her night gown. He felt a sudden, unexpected twinge of sadness, realizing he and Julia would never be able to have a child. They could know these moments only through Olivia. He inhaled deeply, deciding, as he watched Olivia cuddle herself against Julia's chest, that he would try to adopt a better attitude about this situation.

"Well, well, I guess we outta be getting to sleep" he said, shifting underneath the blankets as he lay down.

"You don't have to scoot so far away, Anthony" Julia said tenderly.

He hesitated. "I'm scared I'll crush her" he replied half-jokingly, cocking an eyebrow.

Julia giggled, and swatted his arm gently. "Darlin'...".

Anthony hesitated again, then drew himself over to where she was, feeling Olivia's warm, small body between them, noticing she'd already fallen back asleep.

"Tomorrow will be better, Anthony" Julia said, as she grabbed his hand gently, and gave it a gentle squeeze.

"Yeah, I know" he replied, smiling as he looked down at Olivia, her chubby cheeks pressed up against Julia's arm. "You know, she's okay when she's like this."

"Quiet, you mean?"

"Dead to the world."

Julia smirked and shook her head as Anthony gently leaned over and kissed her. "Goodnight, darlin'" she said sleepily.

"Goodnight, baby" he replied. 


	5. Chapter 5

"Eh."

The sensation of something soft smacking his face was the first thing Anthony noticed.

"Eh."

He furrowed his brow, part of his brain knowing entirely that he was awake, the other part hoping against hope that whatever he was feeling was part of some elaborate dream. He sunk further into the mattress, drawing the sheets more tightly around him so as to block out whatever part of the world he was now aware of, and drift back into sleep.

"Eh."

Anthony slowly forced open one of his eyes, only to come face to face with the large eyes of Olivia, who was turned over so far that the top of her head was practically buried in the pillow. He caught sight of her toothless grin, as she reached over and patted his face again. Anthony rolled his eyes exhaustedly. "Hey, Olivia" he mumbled, hoping he could get some more sleep. He closed his eyes, and was attempting to relax when he heard her scoot closer to him. Suddenly, he felt her fuzzy, downy blonde hair touching his chest, and looked down to see her staring up at him hopefully. He inhaled, glanced over at Julia, and saw she was still fast asleep. With a small grin, Anthony scooped up Olivia, and gently padded down the stairs and into Julia's kitchen, deciding that for all the abuse she'd endured during last nights bath time, she deserved a good breakfast.

"Alright, Miss Olivia," he said dramatically, setting her atop the counter in the booster seat that Charlene had left with them, "I need you to help me decide what we're gonna make for Miss Julia. Now, I can make a mean scrambled egg, and I know that's her favorite, but what do you think we should do?"

Olivia hesitated, and for a brief moment Anthony felt stupid for talking aloud to someone who couldn't understand him, when she suddenly grinned brightly at him, her face suggesting that his idea seemed a very good one. She shook her hands excitedly, and Anthony smiled in response, carefully checking to make sure her seat was far away enough from the stove top, as he talked Olivia through the beating and cooking of the eggs.

Upstairs, Julia awoke with a jolt. Years of mothering Payne had taught her that, if you fell asleep with a child beside you, and woke to an empty bed, it meant bad news. For this reason alone, she had nearly jumped out of her skin when she realized she didn't feel Olivia beside her anymore, and it took her a moment to notice that the spot that Anthony had previously occupied was empty as well. Logically, Julia knew she could trust Anthony with a baby, but technically, Julia also knew that Anthony knew nothing about babies, and--from what she could deduce--was nearly terrified of them, so she got out of bed rather swiftly, wondering what problem could possibly have arisen that Anthony hadn't woken her up to ask for help. She was running through the scenarios in her mind when she stopped short, half-way down her flight of stairs, and strained to try to make out the sounds coming from the kitchen. Had Julia not known any better, she would've sworn that Anthony was singing, but the idea alone was too contradictory to what happened last night, and so she shook her head as she made her way toward the kitchen, gently nudging the door open so as not to be noticed. She was greeted by the sight of Anthony dancing smoothly in front of Olivia, singing to her as he waved his hands, "We gotta cook...the eggs! We gotta make...the food!" She glanced at Olivia, who was happily waving her hands in the air.

Suddenly, Anthony cried out, "Get low, Olivia!" and Julia watched in amazement as Olivia shimmied her shoulders and reached as far as she could toward her toes. Anthony spun around in his socks, and was about to continue when he suddenly noticed Julia in the doorway.

"Julia--we uh, we were just--uh" Anthony stammered as Olivia looked at Julia with surprise.

"Having a little fun in here?" Julia said, struggling to conceal her grin so as not to embarrass him.

"Uh, well--well we were mostly cooking" Anthony said, nodding toward the pan, completely embarrassed that he'd been caught dancing in his flannel pajamas--with a baby--in the kitchen.

"Well, whatever it was," Julia said, walking over to him and leaning in gently to give him a kiss on the cheek, "I found it very attractive." She grinned up at him and rubbed his arm, flashing him a coy look as she walked over to the coffee maker.

"Hmm, Miss Sugarbaker--" Anthony started, pinning her against the counter as he wrapped his arms around her waist and kissed her intensely.

"Anthony," Julia giggled, pointing passed him to the other end of the kitchen where Olivia was watching them curiously, "not in front of the baby."

"Turn around Olivia" Anthony called to her over his shoulder, turning back to Julia and kissing her again before she had a chance to protest. In spite of herself, she gave in, running her hands over Anthony's strong arms as he hummed with excitement against her mouth, feeling his strong hand run itself around her waist and squeeze her torso. Behind them, they heard a small giggle, and turned to see Olivia smiling happily at them. Anthony and Julia broke apart, looking at each other somewhat sheepishly as Anthony walked back over to check on the eggs.

"So, where should we go today?" Julia asked, trying to diffuse the awkwardness and also alleviate her desire for Anthony to continue his attempt at seducing her.

"You wanna brave taking this little minion out into the world?" Anthony asked, shooting Julia a glance over his shoulder and teasingly poking Olivia.

Julia clicked the coffee maker on, and opened the fridge to make some breakfast for Olivia. "Olivia's a good baby, I think the zoo would be nice for her. Anyway, she's old enough to handle it" she said, putting a small pan on the stove so she could cook Olivia's oatmeal. Olivia grinned happily at Julia and pointed at her, and Julia leaned forward to kiss her hand as she stirred.

"You know, maybe that's not such a bad idea, Julia. I mean, after all, Charlene did leave everything we'd need to take care of Olivia here, and I would feel kinda bad if she had to stay cooped up in here all day."

"So, it's settled then, after breakfast we'll take this little one out to see the lions and the tigers" Julia said, poking Olivia's tummy playfully.

"I think it'll be perfect" Anthony replied.


	6. Chapter 6

As it turned out, Anthony was completely incorrect. Perfect was the opposite of what it would turn out to be. He and Julia were sitting--trapped, really--in the zoo eatery, as Julia struggled to calm Olivia down. Apparently, lions and tigers were the exact opposite of what Olivia wanted to see. The moment he and Julia had set foot near their exhibit, Olivia screamed her head off in fear, and now they were sitting over a table, Olivia slung over Julia's shoulder, at a loss for what to do next. Olivia turned a bit, releasing Julia's shoulder and looking mournfully out of the window, huffing dramatically.

"Well, what the hell are we gonna do now?" Anthony asked, already exhausted.

"I have no idea" Julia said, laying a tear-soaking napkin on the table. "I don't understand this, Payne always loved coming to the zoo, so did I, even when I was young, what in the world could be causing this upset?"

"You got me," Anthony said, shrugging his shoulders, "I always liked the zoo."

"You think we should just call it a day, and go back home?"

"I guess so" Anthony said, disappointedly. He had to admit that he no longer felt pangs of sadness at the thought that he and Julia could not reproduce. For him, it was pure joy, especially after this morning. He opened the door to the eatery and followed behind Julia, when something caught his eye.

"Hey Julia."

"What, Anthony?"

"What about that?" he asked, pointing passed her.

Julia turned to see what he was looking at, and saw a small enclosure with the words, 'Petting Zoo', emblazoned over the doorway. Next to it was a sign that said, 'Baby monkeys here today!'. Julia looked at Anthony nervously. "You think we should?"

"It's worth a shot," he replied, "it beats driving all the way back after only 10 minutes here."

Julia smiled sympathetically, seeing Anthony was getting frustrated again. She turned to look at Olivia, who was looking curiously at the petting zoo entry way. "Why not?" she said, straightening herself, and marching toward their destination. She slowed her pace just before they got to the entryway, waiting for Olivia to start screaming again. Surprisingly, she was silent, her large eyes darting curiously over the large, open space. An employee approached them slowly, introducing himself as Garrett and pointing to the baby chimp in his arms.

"This is Ellie, she's only a month old."

"Where's her mother?" Julia asked, worriedly.

"We're not sure. She was brought to us after some backpackers found her all alone in a forest in Africa. Thankfully, she was in decent shape, and we had space to take her in, so she's being bottle-fed and raised like a real baby, by us."

Julia clucked her tongue sadly, her maternal instincts kicking into overdrive as she looked at the small, sweet looking creature in the boys arms. "Can I pet her?"

"Of course!" he replied happily, leaning forward a touch as Julia extended her hand tentatively. Surprisingly, Ellie did not pull away, silently letting Julia pet her for a moment before reaching out a tiny hand and grabbing Julia's in response, puckering her lips as though to kiss it.

Julia's eyes welled up with tears, and before she could do anything else, Ellie reached gently over to Olivia, stroking her arm sympathetically. The once-frightened baby in Ellie recognized the nervousness in Olivia, and stroked her while she looked carefully into Olivia's eyes. Olivia sat motionless for a moment, before reaching out a tiny hand and touching Ellie's side, and the two of them held one another's gaze for a long while.

"That's incredible, she's usually a little shy at first" Garrett half-whispered, looking at Julia.

Julia bit her lip, trying not to cry in the zoo, as she nodded in response, afraid that if she opened her mouth, she would lose her composure. Anthony stood a few feet behind her, watching in amazement as Olivia and the monkey smiled happily at each other. Olivia turned suddenly, and looked over Julia's shoulder at Anthony. "Eh!" she said, pointing at him.

Julia and Garrett looked at Anthony, who blushed a tad as he awkwardly stepped over and gently petted Ellie's soft head. Olivia giggled and wriggled in Julia's embrace, to which Julia responded by gently placing her in his arms. She watched as the two of them looked at the monkey together, petting and talking to her, and sometimes to each other. Julia felt a twinge of familiar sadness, as she wondered, watching Anthony interact so easily with Olivia, if she wasn't keeping him from something he was meant for. Before her thoughts had a chance to run away with her, Garrett asked if they wanted to see some of the other monkeys, and both Anthony and Olivia brightened, and walked further into the enclosure excitedly, Anthony pointing out the different monkeys to Olivia as he named the ones he knew. He turned to see where Julia was, falling in step with her, and smiling as he said, "You know, baby, I'm glad we came out here."

"Me too" she said, somewhat sadly, the worry still picking at her brain.

Anthony studied her features carefully, and nudged her slightly as he said, "Worried you're holding me back from being a father?"

Julia looked at him in amazement, her mouth falling open without her noticing it.

"That's what I thought."

"Well...well, I am, Anthony, and--"

Anthony stopped in his tracks and looked at Julia head on. "Baby, don't worry. I like spending time with Olivia, talking to her, playing with her...but I never considered becoming a dad when I was younger, and now...well, now I know that the most important things in my life don't involve kids, and that's okay."

Julia smiled shyly, and said, "Are you sure, Anthony, because--"

"Yes, yes I am. This little minion is loads of fun, but I can do without the daily trials of bath time, breakfast time, screaming at animals--I'm good. My life is full, and my heart is fuller."

Julia grinned happily, and stroked Anthony's arm as they made their way through the rest of the exhibit, Olivia calling out excitedly every few feet and pointing at everything in sight.


	7. Chapter 7

The sun was slowly sinking below the horizon as Julia and Anthony descended the staircase, heading toward the kitchen for dinner as the sharp sound of the doorbell pierced the air.

"Who could that be?" Julia wondered aloud, shifting Olivia slightly as she glanced briefly out the window. Before she could reach the door, Mary Jo and J.D. stepped inside, calling out, "Hello?"

"Well, Mary Jo, J.D., what're y'all doing here?" Julia asked.

Mary Jo looked curiously at Julia, and said, "Just stopping in, what is she doing here?", nodding her head toward Olivia.

"She's staying with us, Charlene and Bill are gone for the weekend, and Ms. Philpott is visiting her family. Charlene didn't tell you?"

"Well she did," Mary Jo replied, making her way toward the armchair near the sofa, "but I thought she was fooling. I mean, the idea of you two with a baby...". She trailed off, chuckling to herself and looking up at J.D. who was standing behind her chair.

Julia and Anthony shot each other a glance, and Julia shifted, feeling slightly miffed. "Well, what do you mean by that, Mary Jo, need I remind you that I raised a son, and did so by myself once his father died?"

"No, no, I don't mean it like that" Mary Jo said, waving a hand to diffuse the weight of the remark.

"Yeah, Mary Jo, I mean, Julia's got Payne, and I...well, I've had several goldfish" Anthony retorted.

"No, no, it's just..." she paused, looking again at J.D., "well, you all are sort of...short-tempered, maybe?" She shot J.D. another glance, but he merely raised his hands and shook his head, not wanting to be involved.

"Short-tempered!" Julia laughed, shooting Anthony a look as he shook his head, "why Mary Jo, that's ridiculous. I mean, the most we've ever had between us is a little fight--"

"A LITTLE fight?"

"One medium-sized argument--"

"ONE?"

"A few small arguments, no worse than what you and J.D. have had!"

"Hey, what have we had?" J.D. asked, incredulously.

"Oh, I'm sorry, maybe I should've clarified, the week you lived with Mary Jo and became a stay-at-home mother!" Julia snapped.

"Heyyy, everybody, maybe we should just--" Anthony started.

"Well, at least I didn't dress up like someone's maid!" J.D. said, shooting Anthony a look.

"I have previous college-level theater experience!" Anthony snapped, shooting J.D. an equally imposing glare.

Before anyone had the chance to say anything else, Olivia started laughing, wiggling a little in her place on Julia's lap. She looked gleefully around the room, hoping for more entertainment. Julia shifted in her seat, and said, "See, now you've upset Olivia."

"She's fine, but you may have just proved my point" Mary Jo muttered in response.

Julia glared at her briefly before relenting, looking over at Anthony as she spoke. "Well, well maybe we do get a little hot-headed, but we're handling things just fine."

Mary Jo shifted, and said, "I know, I know you are, I'm sorry. We've been stuck in that hot car for hours, and it's just getting to me. Honestly, I came by to see if you all wanted me and J.D. to take Olivia off your hands."

Before Julia had a chance to reply, Anthony said, "Oh no, that's okay, Mary Jo, we're really doing alright. It took us a minute to get adjusted, but everything's going really good now." At this Olivia laughed and looked at Anthony, raising her hand and wiggling.

"Is she trying to dance?" Mary Jo asked curiously.

"Oh, well, that's uh--that's nothing Mary Jo" Anthony answered sheepishly.

"A little something they made up while making breakfast this morning" Julia said, cocking a brow at Mary Jo.

"Ah, I see."

"Well, well Mary Jo, how about you and J.D. stay for dinner?" Julia asked, shooting Anthony a questioning look to see if he was okay with the suggestion.

"Oh no, no, I don't want to impose--"

"Nonsense Mary Jo," Julia said, as Anthony nodded in agreement, "it's no trouble, we were just about to get started, and you all have been traveling in that hot car all day, let's call a truce and break bread." She flashed Mary Jo a teasing grin.

"Well--" Mary Jo turned to J.D., who nodded at her, "--well okay, but only if you're sure!"

"Positive" Julia and Anthony replied, rising to their feet and walking toward the kitchen, Mary Jo and J.D. following closely behind. Mary Jo looked on in amazement, as Anthony began picking out a few ingredients for dinner, while Julia elegantly sailed around the kitchen, cooing at Olivia as she made her supper.

"Y'all okay with Chicken Alfredo?" Anthony asked.

"Oh yes!" Mary Jo and J.D. called back in unison. "Do y'all need any help?" Mary Jo asked hesitantly.

"Oh no, Mary Jo, we're alright, really, just relax and enjoy yourselves" Julia replied as she set two glasses of wine in front of them.

Mary Jo watched in amazement as Anthony and Julia seamlessly moved through the kitchen, managing to tend to Olivia while making dinner at the same time.

"Are you seeing what I'm seeing, Mary Jo?" J.D. whispered under his breath.

"Yeah," Mary Jo said stoically, dumbfounded at the sight, "who knew they had it in 'em to raise a child?"

J.D. watched in silence for a few more moments before he leaned over and said, "Do you think Anthony has thought about having kids, Mary Jo?"

Mary Jo scoffed. "J.D., I think Julia's a little bit passed her child-bearing years."

"No, no, I mean...do you think he'll ever look back and wonder what he missed?"

Mary Jo studied J.D. carefully, before looking over at Anthony as he grabbed Olivia's hand playfully and wiggled it, Julia coming up behind him at the stove and wrapping her arms around his waist as she laughed.

"No, no, I don't think so, J.D. I think Anthony has everything he needs already" Mary Jo said confidently, smiling to herself.

"Y'all doin' okay over here?" Julia asked, her voice cutting through their reverie as she walked over to the table, bouncing Olivia on her hip.

"Oh yeah, fine, fine, Julia," Mary Jo said, waving a hand at her, "I have to say, I'm pretty impressed, I mean you and Anthony have this parenting this down pat."

"Well, I don't know about down pat, Mary Jo," Anthony said, coming up beside Julia and setting the pasta on the table, "but we've got our defenses locked and loaded in case of any on-coming troubles." He shot Olivia a playful look as she threw a toothless, mischievous grin at him.

As they were finishing dinner, Anthony looked at Olivia and said, "Hey Ms. Libby, do you wanna help Anthony get some ice cream out of the freezer so we can all have some dessert?"

"Hey, I'll help ya" J.D. said swiftly, rising his feet and following Anthony and Olivia into the kitchen.

Mary Jo turned to Julia, studying her face as she watched Anthony and Olivia reach into the freezer and grab the ice cream container.

"Isn't that just the sweetest thing, Mary Jo?" she said, turning to look at her, a wistful expression passing over her face.

"Oh yeah, Anthony's a natural with Olivia, I should leave my kids with y'all sometime."

"Makes me wish I was young enough to still have children" Julia said quietly, looking down at the table.

Mary Jo popped her eyebrows in surprise. While she knew Julia quite well, there was something about her that remained aloof, mysterious, maybe. There were parts of her Mary Jo would never see or know, and she knew this. No matter how well she knew Julia, Mary Jo knew that she would never know her like Anthony did, so it surprised her to hear such an unguarded remark.

"You think you and Anthony would have had children, if...?" Mary Jo trailed off, not knowing really what to say.

"Oh yeah," Julia said softly, looking back at him again briefly, "well you know I always wanted another one."

Mary Jo pondered this a moment, then decided humor was the best approach. "Well, y'know, Julia, people think you're a lot younger than what you are, I'm sure you could--"

"I don't think so, Mary Jo," Julia replied, flashing her a playfully stern look, "I had enough fun giving birth to Payne in my twenties, I don't think I could handle that in my...not twenties."

"No pain, no gain, Julia."

Julia whacked her on the arm and turned to Anthony, who was setting an ice cream bowl in front of her. She gently took Olivia into her arms, and they all sat down to eat dessert, taking turns teasing Olivia, and each other.

Finally, Mary Jo and J.D. decided it was time to call it a night, and they left, telling Anthony and Julia to call them for help with Olivia if they wanted a break.

Julia closed the door behind them and took Olivia upstairs to give her a bath--no toys thrown this time--while Anthony cleaned up downstairs. They took turns watching Olivia as the other got ready for bed, and finally, they settled under the covers, Olivia in between them.

"Hey baby?" Anthony said, after a few moments of silence.

"Yes, darlin'?"

"What kind of baby do you think we would have?"

"What kind?"

"Well, y'know, like boy, girl, smart, dumb, behaved...Olivia?" he said, throwing Olivia a snarky glance to which she responded with a hearty giggle.

"Oh...well, I don't know darlin', why?"

"Just curious" Anthony said, shrugging a bit.

"Have you been thinking about us having a baby, I mean, theoretically?"

"Well, no, I mean--" Anthony stopped short, pausing before turning to look at Julia, "I mean...yeah, I have, I've thought about it sometimes. I mean, I know we can't, but you do wonder, you know?"

Julia sniffed a little, feeling herself becoming emotional and trying to stifle it. "Oh sure, I wonder too" she said softly.

"You do?" Anthony asked, his voice rising in surprise as he turned to look at her.

"Well, sure, sure I do, Anthony" Julia said softly, as he reached over to stroke her hair.

"Well, Miss Sugarbaker, I didn't take you for a dreamer" Anthony teased.

Julia giggled and nodded. "I'll admit that I have even--very briefly, mind you--entertained the thought of actually having another baby. Foolish stuff, I know, but..." she trailed off, her emotions getting the best of her. Anthony took note, and leaned gently across the now sleeping Olivia to give Julia a kiss. "It's just that I really did want another baby, so much. And I know if I met you sooner, we would've had that chance, and probably made that choice" she said, looking up at him with her big, sad eyes.

"I know, baby. You would've looked real good pregnant too, I bet."

She giggled, wiping a few stray tears off of her cheeks. Anthony looked down at her tenderly, and said, "When I daydream, I always imagine we have two kids, one boy and one girl. And that they're both tough like me, but beautiful like you."

"Anthony..." Julia whispered, caressing his cheek as he gave her another kiss. She looked at him for a few moments before she said, "Have I ever shown you pictures of me, when I was young?"

Anthony thought this over carefully, shaking his head. "Not too many, no, mostly a couple of you and Suzanne goofing off when you were kids."

She laughed and looked away shyly before she said, "Do you wanna see some of me when I was pregnant with Payne?"

Anthony popped his brows in surprise and curiosity. "You have some?"

She nodded, slowly getting out of bed so as not to awaken Olivia, before crossing her bedroom floor and pulling a photo album off the shelf. She gently sat back down, handing the book to Anthony. He flipped open the cover, looking down at a photo of a smiling Julia, cradling a bump that was not yet there.

"Hayden took that photo the day we found out. I was so convinced I had a bump already, and wanted everyone to know it" she said quietly.

Anthony laughed a bit, and turned the page, to see a picture of Julia sitting on a sofa, nestled between a jubilant looking Suzanne and Perky.

"Mother and Suzanne were so excited. I thought Suzanne was happier to hear I was expecting than she was to win her pageant that year" she joked, shooting Anthony a wry smile.

He flipped a few pages before coming across a photo of Julia, taken of her in the nursery, unaware of the camera's presence. She was sitting on the floor, a journal spread out in front of her, her stomach protruding gently underneath her cotton shirt.

"Suzanne took that one, obviously without my knowing. I was filling out Payne's baby book. I think I wrote everything in that book, all my thoughts, my fears, my doubts. It's amazing how much you'll tell someone who isn't even there to hear it."

Anthony turned more pages, seeing Julia at various stages, her stomach growing with each passing page, like her smile. On one of the last pages, was a photo of her smiling nervously at the camera, sitting on the couch, her hair floating around her shoulders and her clean, makeup-less face.

"I asked Hayden to take that picture. I knew that night that would be the last one, before Payne was born."

"Were you nervous?" Anthony asked quietly, looking over at her.

"Terrified" she answered honestly, admitting to him something she'd never told anyone. She remembered that day well, how she'd pretended to be prepared. Inside, she wasn't, and she knew it.

He studied her for a moment before turning the page again, this time to a photo of an exhausted looking Julia, cradling a newborn Payne in her arms.

"You look beautiful" Anthony said softly, almost without even meaning to. The words escaped his mouth before his brain even had time to process them.

"I look like what I was, tired, and sore" Julia replied teasingly, shifting slightly. She'd always been embarrassed by that photo, even though she knew she shouldn't be. She'd just wished, even as they took the picture, that she'd looked a little less haggard. She remembered looking into the mirror just before it was taken, thinking to herself she looked like a balloon, horrified, wondering if she would ever look the same again.

Anthony looked over at Julia, knowing her lack of confidence was eating at her even now, so many years later. "You look beautiful" he said softly.

She blushed and looked away before looking back at him sheepishly and saying, "Thank you, darlin'."

Anthony looked back at the album, cradling it in his hands and flipping back and forth through the pages. He wanted to remember these pictures as well as he could. For all the time he'd been with Julia-a little over a year--he realized that he'd never gotten to know a whole lot about her life before Sugarbaker's, before him. She knew a lot about his past, his childhood, his wild stories about goofing off with his buddies at school, his time in prison, but he'd never exactly thought to ask her as much. Anthony realized it was hard to imagine Julia had a past. To him, she seemed like some superior being that came into this world fully-formed, equipped with wisdom and grace beyond her years. To think she'd come by both because of the cruelties of what man calls 'experience' was difficult to fathom.

He looked up at her and reached over and squeezed her hand. "I love you, baby."

"I love you too, darlin'" she said softly, smiling at him as she squeezed his hand in return.

He closed the book, smiling down at it before he nudged her teasingly and said, "Now that I know what you looked like when you were pregnant, I finally have an image I can use for my daydreams."

"Anthony..." she said quietly, blushing.

"Well, now, ain't nothing wrong with a dream, right? It's okay if it's not reality, some dreams are meant to just be dreams." He leaned toward her a bit and cocked a brow as he said, "Besides, I dreamt about you many a time, and that one came true."

"Anthony!" Julia giggled, whacking him in the chest, trying not to be too loud so as not to wake Olivia.

"What? You really think you were gonna saunter past me in your skirts and heels everyday and I wasn't gonna dream?"

Julia bit her thumb shyly, looking at him for a moment before asking quietly, "What kind of dreams did you have about me?"

Anthony popped his brows in surprise, not expecting her to ask the question. Naturally, they'd become intimate months ago, but they didn't really discuss sex outside of the bedroom. "Well, well," Anthony looked down at the bedspread and nervously stubbed his toe into the carpet, "well, I mean, you remember when I told you before we were dating that I was having that dream about you trying to seduce me in the hallway?"

Julia looked away, nodding. "Ah, yes, the one you told me about so it would go away...I remember." She tried not to sound disappointed, reminding herself that was before they were together.

"Well, well...well the truth is I didn't tell it to you because I wanted it to go away. Well, I did, mostly because there was the beanbag chair and that picture of Gary Coleman, but the truth is I was horrified by the dream because I thought you didn't like me in that way. But then, at night, there you were, trying to seduce me and well, I basically wasn't even really sure how I felt about you yet, I mean, we were just friends, and then my mind had to go had screw me all up and well...well, there I was, screaming in terror on your couch as you tried to shake me awake."

Julia stared at him quietly for a moment, lost for how to respond, before she looked away again and said, "Oh, okay...".

Anthony could sense her disappointment, so he stroked her arm and said, "Do you wanna know my favorite dream of you that I had?"

"There were others?" she asked, feeling a little offended by this point.

"Not like that" Anthony said, nudging her gently. "There was this one...well, there was this one where I would come back to Sugarbaker's after hours because I'd forgotten something, usually my house keys, and I would come through the front door and be grabbing my keys off the desk before I'd look up and see you in your robe at the top of the stairs, hair loose, no makeup on. And you'd be surprised, walking down the stairs asking me what was wrong, and I'd be standing there, fumbling with my keys, trying not to sound like an idiot, and then I'd step toward you at the same time you'd step toward me, and then--" Anthony motioned with his hands, gently smacking them together, "--I'd be looking into your eyes and you'd be looking into my eyes, and then I'd somehow find the courage to brush your hair off your face, and when you didn't smack the living hell out of me, well...well about that time I'd be leaning in to give you a kiss" he said quietly, a little embarrassed to be sharing that one of his favorite fantasies of her involved what was essentially a teen movie first-kiss scenario.

"And then you'd wake up?" she asked quietly, touched by how innocent his fantasy was.

"Well no, when I realized that you were kissing me back, then I'd whisk you upstairs and make love to you all night. And that's whole other dream and story" he said, nodding his head and shooting her a serious look.

Julia giggled again, looking down at the bed for a few moments, wondering if she should say something. Finally she said, "I guess I had some dreams about you too."

Anthony looked at her, watching her eyes flutter shyly as he said, "Oh yeah?", his curiosity entirely peaked.

She grinned bashfully, blushing and almost too nervous to even share such a thing. Their mother had always raised them never to speak about sex, even with the ones you love. It just wasn't done. Julia guessed this was another idea she'd grown up with that she could let go of.

"Well," she began, bouncing her leg nervously, "I guess I started having dreams when you bailed us out of jail that one time."

Anthony had to take a moment to try to remember what she was talking about. He looked at her, somewhat shocked. "You mean that time all those years ago, right after I started here, when I had to pretend to be Reese Watson to get y'all out?"

She looked at him sheepishly before fumbling awkwardly with her fingers, nodding in reply.

Anthony sat in silence for few moments, still shocked. "Really?!"

Julia looked even further down at her lap, nodding again. "Yes, Anthony, really."

"You mean all this time you've been--"

"Well, not the whole time, I mean I was with Reese" she said sternly, looking up at him.

"I know, but that was years ago--"

"I know it was--"

"--what was it about that time that got you so...hot and bothered?"

Julia looked down, completely embarrassed at this point. This is not how this was supposed to go. She'd always thought conversations like these were supposed to be fun and sexy. So much for that.

She sighed audibly, and Anthony reached over quickly, gently stroking her chin and turning her head towards him. "Julia, this is nothing to be ashamed about."

"Well, you're making me feel weird" she said, shifting uncomfortably.

"Well, how am I doing that?"

"I don't know."

"You don't?"

"You just are, I guess" she sighed again, throwing her hands up in frustration as she looked down at the floor, rubbing her hands together. "No, no it's not you, it's...it's just me, I don't know how to do this."

"Do what?" Anthony asked, feeling genuinely bewildered.

"This" she said, motioning with her hands, "I don't know how to be really sexy. I mean, I can fake it, I can strut my stuff in a suit, and do my hair, and my makeup, but I don't really know how to be sexy, I just don't."

"What're you talking about?"

"You know what I mean."

"Julia, you are sexy" Anthony said, stroking her arm gently, "you don't have to be anything else. I like that you're shy and nervous, that's who you are, and that's who I am too. You don't have to be something you're not."

"Really?"

"Really. And, we don't have to have this conversation anymore if you don't want" he said seriously, looking carefully at her.

She hesitated a moment, before looking up at him through her lashes as she said, "I guess it was the suit you were wearing."

Anthony paused, not realizing right away she was talking about the dream again. "The suit?"

"The one you were wearing that day when you were pretending to be Reese. I mean, Reese always filled out a suit alright, but when you walked in..." she smiled shyly, "...well, I guess that's all it took."

Anthony was shocked. The suit hadn't even been that great, his only nicer piece of clothing he owned at the time. "That's it?"

She nodded. "I had a dream that very night that instead of ushering us out, you walked into the cell, took me in your arms, and kissed me to prove to that stuffy, old guard that you really were Reese."

Really?"

"And then once all the girls had left, I took you home" she said shyly, blushing for the umpteenth time that night.

"Miss Sugarbaker," Anthony said teasingly "you took me home just like that?"

"Well, you looked really good!" she giggled. "Plus, I was still with Reese at the time, so my nights weren't exactly filled with action."

Anthony felt a swell of satisfaction at this last remark. He'd always had a hunch that Julia's intense focus at work was the result of energy that wasn't expended elsewhere, but hearing it confirmed still gave him a thrill.

"Well, you know, there is something I could do about that fantasy now" he said, running a hand up her thigh.

She bit her lip and looked behind herself at the still-sleeping form of Olivia. "When she's gone, darlin'."

Anthony slumped his shoulders in disappointment, having almost forgotten she was still there. "Downstairs?"

"Anthony."

"Well, okay, but just remember that, cause I had a dream about you in the storeroom, too--"

"Anthony!"

"Hey, I need those in times like these. Plus, it was good, too."

Julia whacked him playfully as they both lay down to go to sleep. "Good night, Anthony" she said sternly.

"See you in my dreams" he quipped, winking at her as she rolled her eyes before blowing him a kiss from her side of the bed.


	8. Chapter 8

Sunday morning started easily. Olivia allowed both Anthony and Julia to sleep until 7 a.m., and took her breakfast without much fuss, having decided that oatmeal and fresh fruit was indeed a tasty combination. After breakfast--and a round of laundry--Julia sat Olivia down in the living room with the baby books Charlene had packed for them. She had been midway through the laundry when it dawned on her that neither she nor Anthony had really sat down with Olivia to read with her. Julia had always been a big reader growing up, and had read to Payne before he was even born. She thought she should at least attempt to teach Olivia something while she was staying with them.

"Alright, Ms. Olivia, how about you and I sit and read together?" she said, sitting Olivia in front of her and holding up a book. Olivia gave her an empty stare for a moment before pushing the book away, shaking her head with dissatisfaction.

"Hey, hey, now," Anthony said, sitting down beside Julia, "you gotta learn how to read, how you gonna get a date if you don't know how to read?"

Olivia giggled and shook her head vigorously, shooting him a mischievous grin.

"You're not gonna find yourself a boyfriend?" Anthony asked playfully, popping his eyebrows in mock surprise.

Olivia looked curiously at him for a moment before she said, "Eh", shrugging her shoulders in reply.

Julia smirked and looked over at Anthony. "I see we've got ourselves an independent young lady on our hands."

"Reminds me of someone else I know" Anthony retorted, shooting her a wry glance.

Julia's mouth dropped open as she shoved him playfully. "And what exactly does that mean, Mr. Bouvier?"

Anthony folded his arms and gave Olivia a stern look. "That means that someone--" he said, nodding his head toward Julia "--tried so hard not to fall in love with me that she tried shutting me out completely, coincidentally the first time she babysat you."

Julia rolled her eyes inwardly. She'd realized a few weeks ago that ever since she and Anthony started dating, he'd picked up her habit of combativeness, and it annoyed the living hell out of her. Sure, it was a trait that others had often told her was less than endearing whenever she displayed it, but she realized now that nothing was a better deterrent of bad habits than watching yours rub off on someone else.

"Anthony, I did no such thing--"

"Remember our conversation the day of my debate meeting? Where you told me that you thought I was ashamed of you because you hadn't struggled as much, and I told you that I didn't think I was good enough for you?"

Julia pursed her lips and cocked an eyebrow at him. "Really? Cause when you tell it like that, it sounds like both of us were trying hard not to fall in love so we wouldn't get hurt."

Anthony paused, and glanced away momentarily, fumbling with his hands. "Oh, uh, well--"

"And incidentally, we had already exchanged 'I love you's' by then, so technically we were trying not to fall too much in love, if you want to split hairs."

Anthony turned and cast Julia an equally imposing stare. "Uh-huh, and who was the one who said I love you first?"

Julia looked away from him, and shrugged sheepishly before looking at Olivia and saying, "Maybe you are better off without a man", feeling Anthony nudge her playfully.

Olivia giggled heartily, clapping her hands together in amusement before pointing shyly at Julia. "Mama" she said, quietly but confidently.

Julia inhaled sharply, drawing back in surprise. It took Anthony a moment before he could find his bearings again and speak.

"Did she just--" he asked quietly.

"Yes, yes she did" Julia whispered.

"But she's called Charlene--"

"Yes, yes she has."

"So this isn't her first--"

"No, no it's not...". Julia exhaled slowly before she said, "It's just the first time she's said it to someone else."

Anthony looked over at Julia, studying her for a moment before reaching out and caressing her back. "You okay, baby?"

Julia looked down at her lap for a moment before looking over at him, nodding tearfully, but smiling. "Yeah" she said softly, reaching out to hug him. She pulled away after a few moments, asking him softly, "Are you?"

Anthony smiled, grabbing her hand gently. "Yeah."

Julia turned to look at Olivia, reaching out to tousle her hair. "I guess the only thing you can tell your Mama that you learned over here was that Ms. Julia is a big crybaby."

Olivia giggled in reply, grabbing Julia's hand and swinging it to and fro. She took the book from Julia's hand, deciding that shaking it was more interesting than listening to Julia read a story. Julia nudged Olivia playfully in her stomach, turning when she felt Anthony grab her waist.

"So, uh...since she's occupied, you wanna...?"

"Anthony!" Julia cried, shooting him a glare.

He scooted closer to Julia, stroking a hand through her hair before pulling the ends gently. "Yes, Ms. Sugarbaker?" he said suggestively, as he watched her bite back a smirk.

"Anthony, she cannot be left alone, she's too young--you know that--and besides, I would never do THAT with a child in the house in the middle of the day" Julia said sternly.

He turned her face gently upward, kissing the skin of her neck as he pulled her hair again, drawing her head further back. He heard her stifle a giggle, and she managed to say, "Anthony--" before he kissed her mouth, pulling her closer toward him as he caressed her neck and back. He pulled back, hearing her giggle again in spite of herself, and say "Anthony--" again, as he pressed his lips against her ear and whispered, "Mmm, yes, baby?"

"Darlin', the answer is no" she said teasingly, pressing her hands gently against his chest in a--halfhearted, if she was honest--attempt to get him to stop. She felt him slump disappointedly against her, resting his face on her shoulder as he whined, "Pleeeeaaaase?" She gently drew her fingers under his chin, lifting his head up so she could lay a few kisses on his mouth. "No, darlin'" she whispered, giving him a few more kisses than she initially intended.

He pulled back and pouted grumpily. "It's been all week, Julia" he said, shooting her a desperate glance as he crossed his arms in front of him.

She felt her resolve waver a bit as she looked into his puppy dog eyes, before inhaling and looking at him intently. "I never said we couldn't later" she whispered flirtatiously.

Anthony rolled his eyes and sucked his teeth, looking at the floor. "We'll be tired, later, Julia, same as we've been all week."

She paused for a moment, glancing over at Olivia who was still happily waving her books around, before sneaking her hand underneath Anthony's shirt as she laid a kiss on his neck. "Too tired for me, Mr. Bouvier? I've never heard that before." She pulled back slightly, enough to see a grin teasing the corners of his mouth.

"I might be," he replied stubbornly, jutting out his chin, "I might be turning over a new leaf, Julia, I don't know."

She giggled softly and pressed her lips close to his ear as she whispered, "I might be trying on a new outfit tonight."

At this, she saw his eyebrows pop up in surprise, watching as the thought percolated in his head. "A new outfit?" he asked curiously, looking at her out of the corner of his eye.

"Mmmm," Julia hummed, kissing his cheek, "if you're good I'll let you see it."

Anthony could practically feel his hands shaking as he looked at Olivia and said, "So, Miss Libby, you wanna help Anthony bake some cookies and make this day go by faster?" Julia laughed and swatted him, and they got to their feet, making their way toward the kitchen. They spent the next few hours busily occupied, first baking--at which Olivia proved herself most apt at digging her hands into the cookie dough bowl--then cleaning the kitchen, then playing with Olivia in the garden, before the sun started its slow trek toward the horizon line, and Julia realized it was time for dinner. After dinner--and another round of dishes--they made their way into the living room, the clock now a little past 7 when the front door opened.

"Hey y'all!" cried Charlene excitedly, Bill waving from behind her.

"Well, Charlene, Bill, we didn't think y'all would be back before 8, how'd everything go?"

"Oh, wonderful," Charlene said, clasping her hands in front of herself as she sat down beside Julia on the sofa, "it was so secluded and romantic. For the first time in months we didn't think about work, the house, the baby--thank you all so much, we really needed this!"

Julia laughed sympathetically, this weekend having been a glaring reminder of the intrusiveness of babies, as she said, "No worries, Charlene, we had ourselves a good time." Olivia clapped her hands heartily in Julia's lap, giggling at her.

"Did you?" Charlene asked, looking down at Olivia as she reached out her hands toward her. "You wanna say hi to Mama?"

Olivia contemplated this for a moment before turning around to look at Anthony, crawling over Julia's lap as she said, "Deh!"

Julia giggled as Charlene looked up in surprise. "Well, it seems I've lost my baby to more interesting people!"

"Charlene, don't you worry, all babies get like that. Libby's just decided this weekend that Anthony is her new favorite person, and--unfortunately--the bond cannot be broken and I have been left lying destitute on the sidelines."

"Is this true, Anthony?" Charlene asked curiously.

Anthony looked at Olivia, who was standing on his lap looking back at him. "Well, yes, Charlene, it would seem that we have transcended the barriers of age, race, and life experience to form a permanent, unbreakable bond that you all could simply never understand."

Julia and Charlene laughed, and Bill chimed in, shooting the breeze with Anthony for a few minutes about sports before they realized they should probably be heading home to allow Julia and Anthony some modicum of alone time. Julia and Anthony walked them to the door, Olivia clinging tightly to Julia's chest, sensing things were coming to an end. Julia kissed the top of her downy blond head and said softly, "Bye darlin', you can always come back to visit us, okay? We love being your home away from home."

Olivia looked up at Julia with her big, puppy dog eyes, and wrapped her arms around Julia's neck, nuzzling herself against her chest. She shook her head at the implication that it was time to leave and looked up at Julia and said quietly, "Dhay."

"What'd she say?" Anthony asked softly.

"Dhay" Olivia repeated, looking at Charlene and waving her off. "Dhay" she said again, looking at Julia.

Julia bit her lip and looked sympathetically at the little girl. "She wants to stay" she said quietly, watching Olivia nod her head.

Charlene's eyes brimmed with tears and she said, "Y'all, this is too sweet. I'm so happy Olivia has a home away from home, I'm not even mad that she's lost interest in me!"

Julia smiled and looked gently at Olivia. "I'm sorry, my darlin', but you have to go home and get a good nights sleep like a big girl. I promise we'll see you again real soon."

Anthony reached over and nuzzled Olivia's cheek and said, "Yeah, Ms. Libby, you and I have to continue to strengthen the ties that bind us, you're definitely gonna see more of Anthony and Julia." He winked playfully at her and watched her giggle in response. She seemed to accept the outcome, and hugged both Anthony and Julia tightly before allowing Charlene to take her gently into her arms.

"I hope she wasn't too much trouble" Bill said, for what seemed like the umpteenth time that night.

"No, no, it took a little bit, but we found our gears fairly quickly and everything was smooth sailing from there" Julia said, winking at Olivia. "We even went out and about and had ourselves a lovely time."

Before she could say anything else, Charlene piped up, "Just hope you didn't take her to the zoo--she's terrified of the lions and tigers there, it's the weirdest thing!"

Julia's face froze, and she turned to look at Anthony who shrugged playfully and said, "Huh, nope, no way, just out and...around", shooting Julia a nervous glance.

They said their goodbyes and Julia shut the door firmly behind them as they drove off into the night. She turned around and saw the clock on the end table, which read 7:35 pm. Anthony was already bent over the sofa, straightening the pillows.

She smiled to herself, pulling at her over-sized sweater and straightening her leggings as she fluffed her hair and said, "Mr. Bouvier?"

"Yeah, baby?" he asked distractedly, turning to glance at her curiously before turning back to the sofa, putting away a few magazines Olivia had pulled off the coffee table.

Julia slumped her shoulders in disappointment before dimming the living room lights and turning on the stereo, the strains of soft jazz music breaking the silence.

Anthony looked up to see Julia slowly making her way toward him, and he stood up as she wrapped her arms around his neck and planted a kiss on his lips.

"Mmm, hi, darlin'" she said softly, grinning up at him.

"Well, hey, baby," Anthony replied, smirking and kissing her again as he slid his hands under her sweater along her waist.

Julia giggled and said, "Hi" again, playfully, leaning back to look up at him as she said, "higher."

Anthony furrowed his brow in confusion, and she cocked an eyebrow at him and said, "Your hands, baby--higher."

It took Anthony a moment to realize she meant--that she wanted him to slide his hands up higher than her waist. He cocked his head and said, "Why, Ms. Sugarbaker, in the middle of this fine establishment?"

She looked him straight in his eyes and said, "Anthony, we've had all weekend to play games, I'm really not in the mood for it now."

He pulled her closer and danced her slowly in a circle in front of the couch as he whispered in her ear, "I'm not playing games, baby, I'm making sure you really want it."

Julia giggled and pulled her fingernails along the skin of his neck, pressing her torso against his. "Mmm, yes I do" she said, kissing his ear, "yes I do, baby."

Anthony pulled back and looked at her sternly. "What's the magic word, Julia?"

"Please, Mr. Bouvier" she said seriously, pouting at him.

He grabbed her hand firmly and turned around, leading her up the stairs. "When we get up there I expect you to mind your manners."

She smirked excitedly as she followed behind him, and answered, "Yes, Mr. Bouvier."

Anthony felt a sharp tingle of excitement in his chest. The knowledge that he'd waited all weekend to have her alone, and that the woman who relished control had so willingly given so much of that to him because she trusted him, was enough to convince him there was no greater thrill in life than being with her. 


End file.
